Watch – Ariel Nomad review on the roads of Exmoor
We drive Ariel’s crazy new off-road buggy. It’s a whole new kind of sports car experience
evo rather likes the Porsche 911. It’s consistently one of our favourite sports cars and, in Carrera 4 trim, is accomplished when the going gets wet or snowy, too.
What it can’t do – at least, what few owners would attempt – is to turn off paved roads onto a muddy, rutted track and have as much fun as you’d have on the road.
You can with Ariel’s latest product, the Nomad. The artistic spaceframe sculpture marks it out as one of the Brit maker’s finest, but the overall look is somewhat different thanks to 235-section, 70-profile tyres on diminutive 15-inch wheels, 250mm of wheel travel and lofty ground clearance.
The soft suspension gives it an unusual gait on the road too, though as Henry Catchpole discovers in our video, it’s wholly capable of soaking up the worst surfaces and plain unfazed by road features like cattle grids.
With a 2.4-litre, Honda K24 engine from the Civic Si sold Stateside, it’s also fast – 60mph comes up in 3.4sec, according to Ariel. It’s even got a windscreen, which is an extra layer of weather protection not offered to Atom owners.
We’re hoping to get an off-road drive soon – in the meantime, check out Henry’s drive in the video, and keep an eye on the newsstands for a first drive in evo Magazine.
